The Literary Construction of the Mahdi: Historical

figure, living imam or future savior?

The Construction of Utopia in Shiite literary narrative
Abstract
Shiite literary and religious texts have created a narrative that tells the
events of the future for an audience in the present. Islamic literature
describes the Mahdi, as the long awaited savior who will usher in a golden
age of peace and justice with the help of Jesus Christ. He will have temporal
and spiritual authority over the world. In Shiite literature the Mahdi is
described in much greater detail; he is the descendent of Ali and Fatima,
Imam i Zaman (Lord of the Age), the last of the twelve Imams who went in
occultation towards the midst of the tenth century. The identity of this imam
has been carefully constructed; he is a superhuman who lives in the world
but is unrestricted by time and space, the Mahdi is a therefore a metonymy
for divine justice. He will appear at a time of great bloodshed and strife. This
literary construction of Utopia symbolized by a religious figure has enabled
Shiite minority communities through the centuries to look beyond Siffin,
Karbala, organized persecution, ethnic cleansing and thus live in the future.
In effect, the narrative intertwines two timelines; the future and the present.
The narrative has been derived from excerpts from the Nahjul Balagha (The
Peak of Eloquence) and a handbook issued by Ayatollah as-Sistani. These
texts invoke a new discussion on the identity construction of prophets and
imams in religious texts.

Presenter Bio
Syeda Sara Abbas has a master’s degrees in technical writing from Carnegie
Mellon University and another one in mass communications from Pakistan.
She analyses rhetoric, language and religious texts from the Islamic world
and writes articles on technology. She can be reached at
sabbas@andrew.cmu.edu or 205 Briar Hill Court, Wexford, PA 15090.

The Literary Construction of the Mahdi: historical

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figure, living imam or future savior?

7th Annual SLLC Graduate Student Conference.

University of Maryland, College Park, March 26- 27, 2009.

Presenter/Author Syeda Sara Abbas

Mainstream Islam can be broadly divided into two main groups: Sunnis and

Shiites. The Shiites are the minority group who believe that mankind would

not be left without guidance which could only come through Prophet

Mohammad’s progeny. Thus spiritual and religious authority after the

Prophet’s death in 632 A.D. was vested in his line of descendents through his

daughter Fatima. These religious authorities called Imams (leaders),

continued for twelve generations beginning with Fatima’s husband Ali. The

Prophet, Fatima, Ali and her two sons Hassan and Hussain are distinguished

as the core of the Ahle Bait (the People of the House). The twelve imams

together with the Prophet and Fatima are called Chauda Masomeen (the

fourteen immaculate ones). Faith in the imams and their piety, suffering and

purity is central to Shiites. The imams have to establish the true faith,

intercede on behalf of their partisans and face the tyrant of the age. Shiite

lore says all the imams were persecuted, imprisoned and martyred. The

losses at the battles of Siffin 657 AD and Karbala 680 AD signaled the

beginning of the organized persecution of the Shiite community. They

survived as their hopes centered on the last imam, the Mahdi (the divinely

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guided one), for a millennium.

The Mahdi

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Mohammad bin Hassan bin Ali bin Mohammad was born in 874 AD, Samarra

to Hassan al-Askari, the eleventh imam and Narjis Khatoon, reputedly a

Byzantium princess. The main theme of the narrative discussing his life is

quietism or occultation; he was born amidst great secrecy, he lived as a

recluse and was rarely seen expect by his four deputies. His life was

described as being in ghaibat ul sughra (minor occultation). He did not die

but went into a period of ghaibat ul kubra (major occultation) that began in

940 AD. He is in the world as an invisible, hidden, living presence, cognizant

of Shiite hopes2. The occultation will end before the second coming of Jesus

Christ; both men will found the kingdom of justice. This Utopia will have a

classless society and will be a world without hunger, poverty and strife.

Occultation also became a by-word for Shiite communities, who, when faced

with persecution practiced taqaiyyah (dissimulation) to preserve the true

faith3. They since the tenth century are waiting for their Imam i Zaman to

lead them out of oppression.

This paper argues that the Mahdi has been presented in three timelines: as a

historical figure, living imam and the future savior. He is a metonym for

divine justice; justice delayed but justice sublime, while Mahdism is

synonymous with optimism.

The Mahdi in Shiite narrative

The word Mahdi is a title and the real name Mohammad bin Hassan is rarely

known or used. The Imam i Zaman (Imam of the Age) is mentioned in prayer

books such as Mafatih al-jinan (Keys to Heaven) and Tahfutul Awam (Gift for

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the Masses). The Muslim Utopia and Mahdi have been discussed liberally in

narratives such as the Nahjul Balagha and An Inquiry concerning Al- Mahdi

and the last Luminary. Nahjul Balagha is the tenth- century compilation of

sermons, letters and sayings of Ali. Their audience is the curious, intellectual

reader who is comfortable reading religious texts in English and wants

analysis and understanding. To analyze the literary construction of the

Mahdi, two sample texts have been taken. The first text is An Inquiry

concerning Al- Mahdi and the Last Luminary written by Mohammed Baqir As-

Sadr and issued by the office of Ayatollah as-Sistani. The second text

comprises of two excerpts from Nahjul Balagha. These texts have been

chosen as sample representations of the Shiite spiritual voice from the

present and past. As –Sadr4 and as-Sistani were both Grand Ayatollahs; Ali

is the primordial center of the Shiite universe.

Questions

It is challenging to create rhetorical space in Shiite discourse as the pantheon

is illuminated with imams, saints, martyrs and caliphs. The Mahdi’s temporal

life is silent; there are no battles, treaties, progeny or oratory to distinguish

him. Yet Mahdism has kept Shiites alive for a thousand years. The Mahdi has

to be identified with the other imams as a continuity of a celestial chain while

he has to be distinguished as the triumphant one.

Mahdi has a dual role; the silent imam of the present, the savior of the

future. Writers have to negotiate which role is relevant for the audience.

Here I address two main questions: How does the text create this identity

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and context or background? And how does the identity fit the method of

argumentation and in the wider framework of the plot.

Findings

We begin by looking at the method of argumentation. Sadr’s narrative uses

quotes, traditions, parables, religious analogies and Quranic verses. He also

uses back references or analogies to establish coherence and to intertwine

two timelines; the birth of the Mahdi is compared to Moses’, his deputies are

compared to Hussain’s followers. Ali’s narrative (in Jafris’ text) use

visualization techniques that “draw” events by use of active voice and

concrete terms,

” I feel I am actually seeing him with my own eyes…”(338).

This is common in Islamic discourse where parables are used to explain

complex ideas and is a display of analogical persuasion. Both texts carry

ethos and are an argument from authority as the writers are also religious

leaders.

The Mahdi’s identity is created by effective use of epithets. Epithets are a

linguistic means of expressing rank and honor and are almost clichés in

Islamic discourse. Thus readers of such texts have a mental schema that

accepts epithets as replacements of names. Epithets also utilize stylistic

figures as hyperbole, repetition, parallelism, and metonymy to reflect

attributes of personalities in narrative without mentioning the name. This

allusion has a powerful, succinct affect. The Prophet was known by several

epithets: as- Sadiq (the truthful), Rasul Allah (Prophet of Allah) Abol Qasim

(father of Qasim). After death he was simply called Rasul Allah. Because of

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the association with a supreme religious authority epithets have an

established, sacrosanct place. Thus in later texts, writers intertextually

modified the existing schema of epithets to attribute power to individuals.

Intertextuality is the idea that all discourse is somehow built on previous

discourse so texts are linked to each other. Thus a text can be worded in a

way to presuppose an earlier text (Johnstone 164). Readers are expected to

make an inferential leap by using the epithet to connect the original and new

individual and confer the rank of the former to the latter.

We see several titles in the texts. Some of these echo earlier ones and

invoke institutional identity which stress how the Mahdi fits amongst other

imams; Abol Qasim (Prophet’s title), Waliyyollah (Ali’s title), al- Qaaim (Jafar

Sadiq’s title5). These epithets act as metaphors as they not only transfer

lineage or rank but also attributes which reside in the linguistic meaning.

Thus calling the Mahdi Waliyyollah, the popular title associated with Ali,

elevates the Mahdi’s station and allows him to be reflected in the

magnificence of Ali. Using the epithet al-Qaaim (the support) to refer to the

Mahdi is strategic; al- Qaaim also means the chief redresser of wrongs; thus

the Mahdi ‘s entire mission, his Messianic status is summarized in a single

word.

Some titles presuppose some previous talk or discourse: the twelfth imam,

Last Pearl of the Prophet’s progeny or true imam. By saying twelfth imam or

Last Pearl the writer presupposes that distinguished ancestors also existed.

Some titles such as Sahiboz Zaman (Master of the Age), Sahibol –Amr

(Master of Power) are linguistic creations which use parallel structure and are

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exclusive to the Mahdi. They use hyperbole to draw attention to the latent

power of the imam as the religious authority of the age and invoke ideas of

celestial majesty in a human form. These titles focus on personal identity and

distinguish him from other imams. To use Sahibol- Amr and Imam i Zaman

in the same text relates two hyperbolic terms through repetition; repetition is

expected in Eastern discourse and entrenches the idea in the reader’s

cognition.

The Mahdi’s identity has been shaped through the creation of a plot which

allows readers to understand reality through discourse. Plots are, “semantic

scaffolds for creating worlds in discourse” (Johnstone 188) and explain how

the world works. The climatic moments of the plots are called peaks where

significant characters come together. Each set of actions may take place in a

different world at a different time. Thus timelines come together and plots

may operate on the basis of cyclical time rather than linear time. (Johnstone

188-190). Plots give readers an abstract storyline and allow them to

understand progression and characters of the narrative.

Shiite resources use the idea of a plot of goodness battling against evil which

is a logical choice seeing actual events in their institutional history such as

Karbala6. Karbala represents a battlefield, an age, a generation and an

ideology. Writers used ideas of cyclical time to describe how the plot will

progress. The discourse participants are the imams who represent the forces

of goodness and the tyrants who represent the forces of evil.

Just as the previous imams fought the tyrants of the age: Ali faced Muawiya,

while Hussain struggled against Yazid, Mahdi will battle “the Anti-Christ”

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(Jafri 338) in a preordained battle. Like Ali and Hussain, the Mahdi’s

battleground is implied to be in Kufa. The narrative uses hyperbole and ideas

of prior discourse to construct the identity of the Anti-Christ as the ultimate

tyrant.:

“…he invades it with the ferocity of a beast and litters the earth with

dead bodies. Society will be engulfed in ravaging wars causing havoc

and destructions… You have no idea of the enormity of destruction.”

(Jafri 338)

The climatic moments or peaks are when the Mahdi triumphs and brings

relief to the earth:

“The Imam who will form a Universal State will make the ruling nations

pay for their crimes.” (Jafri 338)

To identity the Imam as a member of the Ahlul Bayt7 (Jafri 354) while to

keep the Anti-Christ’s ambiguous is a strategic choice. The narrative

rhetorically underlines that the forces of goodness are singular and can only

come through the Imams; the forces of evil are numerous and can come

from anywhere.

Acknowledging ideas of previous discourse by saying that the idea of Mahdi

is older than Islam (Sadr 55) also helps in establishing cyclical pattern and

helps to expand the scope of Mahdi’s destiny; the primordial good versus

evil struggle is common to all humanity.

In conclusion we see that both texts use ideas of previous discourse,

timelines and plots to build the literary persona of the Mahdi.

Cyclical time draws in the reader; as they can identify the stage of the plot

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 and become part of the discourse as the Mahdi’s followers. The plot of

suffering appeals to those readers who may suffered under a repressive

regime or lost a loved one in action will be able to relate to the plot. Ideas of

prior discourse elevate the Mahdi’s station and model him as a natural

successor in every reading. Shiite readers understand that they are dealing

with kairoto the Prophet’s spiritual power. The narrative seems fresh and

engaging s (appropriate time) instead of chronos (clock time) to understand

the complex idea of occultation. The occultation will end at an appropriate

time not measured by temporal chronology. For the present, they can take

comfort in the idea that they are living in the same age as the Imam i

Zaman; he is not a distant, historical figure but a person of their times.

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1
The author would like to thank Dr.Barbara Johnstone of Carnegie Mellon University for her help in reviewing this paper.

2
The Mahdi is more than an abstract ideal; the Iranian constitution names him as the ruler of the country. Shiites pay a
part of charity khums (tax that is designated for the Prophet’s descendents) to clerics who act as representatives in his
absence.

3
Shiite communities often went under dissimuluation or taqayyiah which was allowed by imams as Mohammad Baqr
( fifth imam) or Jafar Sadiq( sixth imam) as Shiites faced great hardships.
4
Grand Ayatollah Baqir as-Sadr ‘s life carried close resemblance to the imams. He was an Iraqi cleric, scholar and
philosopher and put forward the theory of Wilayat Ummah (Rule of the people) and was imprisoned and captured during
Saddam’s reign. He and his sister Amina were tortured to death by Saddam Hussain in 1980. He is regarded as a martyr by
the Iraqis; he is the father in law of Moqtada al-Sadr the leader of the Mahdi Army.
5
The Ahle Bait are the People of the House understood to be the Ali, Fatima and their sons Imam Hassan and Hussain. The
Ahle Bait also include the wives of the Prophet but they are not considered religious authorities by Shiites.
6
Jafar Sadiq was a foremost scholar of Islamic law.
The battle of Karbala was fought between the third imam Hussain and forces of Ummayad Caliph
Yezid in 680 AD. Hussain and his sons, brothers and companions were killed in an afternoon. This
event marks the clear schism between the Prophet’s descendents( Ali’s sons) and his Companions.

Bibliography

Works Cited

Halm, Heinz. The Shiites A Short History. Markus Wiener Publishers. Princeton 2007. 28-

38

Jafri, Askari. Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha. Sermons Letters and Sayings of Imam

Ali ibne Abi Talib. Islamic Seminary Publications. Eleventh edition. 1984. 337-339, 353-

354.

Jaafar, Syed Mohammad. Tahfultul Awam Maqbool Jadeed. Ifthikhar Book Depot.

Islampura Lahore.

Johnstone, Barbara. Discourse Analysis. Blackwell Publishing. Malden, Massachussets

2008. 150-250

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